Archaeologists have uncovered a substantial section of an ancient defensive fortification wall at Midas Castle in central Turkey, providing new evidence of how the Phrygians fortified one of their most important settlements. The discovery reveals how builders combined stone walls with the plateau’s natural cliffs to create a strong defensive system.
The wall emerged during excavations at Yazılıkaya, also known as Midas Castle, south of Eskişehir. Archaeologists opened a trial trench in an area believed to have served as a watchtower. There, they uncovered masonry preserved to a height of about 2.6 meters (8.5 feet). The structure consists of four surviving courses of carefully worked stone blocks. It appears to have sealed a gap between rocky outcrops, protecting one of the vulnerable approaches to the plateau.
Natural cliffs formed part of the defenses
Excavation director Professor Yusuf Polat of Anadolu University said the discovery gives archaeologists direct physical evidence of the fortress system. Steep formations of volcanic tuff surround much of the plateau, creating natural barriers around the settlement. Earlier research showed that Phrygian builders strengthened places where those cliffs were interrupted.
They cut stepped foundations, grooves and sockets directly into the bedrock to support masonry. Archaeologists had previously found small surviving sections of these defenses on the southeastern side of the fortress. The newly exposed wall preserves the system on a much larger scale.
Rather than building a continuous stone wall around the plateau, the ancient Phrygians appear to have incorporated the landscape into their defenses. Natural cliffs protected areas that were already difficult to cross. Builders added masonry where gaps left the settlement exposed.
Pottery offers clues to the wall’s history
Archaeologists also recovered pottery dating to the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. from the excavation trench. Polat cautioned that the ceramics cannot by themselves establish when the exposed wall was built. However, their archaeological context could help researchers understand when the perimeter was enclosed and strengthened. Evidence suggests that parts of that process may have developed after the seventh century B.C.
Yazılıkaya/Midas Kale çevresinde bir savunma duvarı bulunduğunu, ana kaya üzerindeki oyulmuş sur duvar yataklarından anlıyorduk. Ancak bugüne kadar bu duvarlara ait in situ bir sur kalıntısı bilinmiyordu.
Son yıllarda yürüttüğümüz kazılar ise bu durumu değiştiriyor.
Gözetleme… pic.twitter.com/hFzM8ZpsLD
— Yusuf Polat (@yu_polat) October 1, 2026
Earlier surveys at Midas Castle uncovered Phrygian pottery dating broadly from the ninth through sixth centuries B.C., with particularly strong evidence of activity during the eighth century B.C. That period coincided with major developments elsewhere in Phrygia. Recent tree-ring research at Gordion, the ancient Phrygian capital, found evidence of major construction around 832 B.C. and again around 800 B.C., helping researchers refine the timeline of the kingdom’s development.
The latest discovery at Midas Castle adds physical evidence to a defensive network that researchers had previously reconstructed largely from marks left in the bedrock.
A fortified sacred landscape
Midas Castle was more than a military stronghold. The plateau stood within an important sacred landscape containing monuments, sanctuaries, and other fortified settlements. Its best-known feature is the Midas Monument, a massive rock-cut façade measuring nearly 17 meters (56 feet) across and high. Its decorated surface carries an Old Phrygian inscription mentioning Midas.
The name has long been associated with the famous Phrygian ruler. Archaeological discoveries continue to shed light on the elite world surrounding him, including a recently uncovered Phrygian royal tomb at Gordion containing dozens of metal artifacts.
Researchers have debated the date of the Midas Monument itself. Estimates have generally placed it between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C., while more recent research has argued for a date in the first half of the sixth century B.C. Archaeologists have also documented rock-cut altars, cisterns, niches, passages and ritual spaces across the plateau. Several are associated with Phrygian religious practices and the worship of the Mother Goddess Matar.
Research in the wider Yazılıkaya Valley suggests that fortified settlements occupied elevated positions overlooking important routes. Polat has argued that these sites formed part of a broader network protecting access to a landscape containing major Phrygian religious monuments. Excavations in 2024 focused on both the defenses of Midas Castle and the nearby Agdistis sanctuary.
The latest discovery now gives archaeologists something that much of the earlier evidence could not: a substantial surviving piece of the fortification itself. Where researchers once saw mainly grooves and sockets marking vanished defenses, four courses of stone now show how Phrygian builders physically closed a gap in the rocky stronghold.
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